November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

Diabetes can lead to serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and blindness. Type 1 diabetes is often diagnosed in children. It limits insulin production and its causes are not well defined. Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for more than 90 percent of cases, has been linked to older age and family history, although it is diagnosed in younger Americans and is associated with obesity and inactivity.

More than 25 million Americans are living with diabetes and many of them live in the Kankakee Valley area.

During National Diabetes Awareness Month, WKVI is partnering with Indiana University Health Starke Hospital in featuring a special column on the WKVI website (www.wkvi.com) dedicated to the stories of local people with this disease.

If you know of someone who is living with diabetes, contact Ted Hayes at IU Health Starke Hospital at 772-1198 and that person share his/her story on the WKVI website. There are a few stories already posted – just click on columnists at the top of the page and learn a little bit about the people who battle diabetes on a daily basis.